[jdpark]

I don't think there is a single right answer here. The Anglophone world has a particular kind of classical music that it likes, whereas Continental Europeans have different tastes altogether. Eastern Europe, and East Asian tastes are also different.
 
I think ideally you would have some sort of real flesh-and-blood human to talk to about this subject. The Internet has both too much and not enough information. Anyone who tells you, "You must start with this album" in Classical music is usually going to be handing you a piece of their own personal nostalgia.
 
I'm also fairly new to classical music and find that reading reviews of new recordings is actually worthwhile. Unlike 20th century genres, like Jazz, Rock, Blues, etc., you don't always need "that album" to appreciate the music. For instance, there is no replacement for the Pink Floyd album 'Dark Side of the Moon', but there are so many great recordings of Bach's Cello Suites that no one can say that this is THE album you MUST own.
 
My personal advice is to ignore most of the nostalgia here on this board and read about the lastest albums, which are almost always very well recorded, well played, and reproduce the music in fresh ways. That way, at least you can rest assured that Classical is not dead. Once you've found out that there is a living tradition involved in playing all types of music found in the Classical section of most stores (ranging by the way from Medieval folk songs to very contemporary experimental music with porous lines drawn between jazz, classical, and pop--even sometimes incorporating elements you would never consider to be part of the classical tradition)....then you can go back and listen to the so called 'great' conductors, Leonard Bernstein, Richter, Von Karijan, etc....
 
In short, you wouldn't be doing badly to read something like this: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/11/arts/music/best-classical-recordings-2015.html    
 
As you purchase albums, read the liner notes and try to figure out where the album fits in the picture of classical trends, and whether that particular album is considered a radical new interpretation, or the definitive 'classical' interpretation of a classical work. People use different instruments at times, different tempos, different arrangements, and sometimes different tunings, so one recording can be vastly different from another, even when the playing is basically on the same level. There's a lot more to be said, but if you have to start somewhere, I say start from the present.

 

[uchihaitachi]

I am new to classical. Where do you guys find these to listen to them? I am having a hard time figuring out how to search for this stuff. Do you look by composer?

Do you have any particular leanings towards certain instruments? Any idea of what period of music you like? What sort of classical music have you listened to this date and thought wow this is good?

 

[Quinto]

  I don't think there is a single right answer here. The Anglophone world has a particular kind of classical music that it likes, whereas Continental Europeans have different tastes altogether. Eastern Europe, and East Asian tastes are also different.
 
I think ideally you would have some sort of real flesh-and-blood human to talk to about this subject. The Internet has both too much and not enough information. Anyone who tells you, "You must start with this album" in Classical music is usually going to be handing you a piece of their own personal nostalgia.
 
I'm also fairly new to classical music and find that reading reviews of new recordings is actually worthwhile. Unlike 20th century genres, like Jazz, Rock, Blues, etc., you don't always need "that album" to appreciate the music. For instance, there is no replacement for the Pink Floyd album 'Dark Side of the Moon', but there are so many great recordings of Bach's Cello Suites that no one can say that this is THE album you MUST own.
 
My personal advice is to ignore most of the nostalgia here on this board and read about the lastest albums, which are almost always very well recorded, well played, and reproduce the music in fresh ways. That way, at least you can rest assured that Classical is not dead. Once you've found out that there is a living tradition involved in playing all types of music found in the Classical section of most stores (ranging by the way from Medieval folk songs to very contemporary experimental music with porous lines drawn between jazz, classical, and pop--even sometimes incorporating elements you would never consider to be part of the classical tradition)....then you can go back and listen to the so called 'great' conductors, Leonard Bernstein, Richter, Von Karijan, etc....
 
In short, you wouldn't be doing badly to read something like this: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/11/arts/music/best-classical-recordings-2015.html    
 
As you purchase albums, read the liner notes and try to figure out where the album fits in the picture of classical trends, and whether that particular album is considered a radical new interpretation, or the definitive 'classical' interpretation of a classical work. People use different instruments at times, different tempos, different arrangements, and sometimes different tunings, so one recording can be vastly different from another, even when the playing is basically on the same level. There's a lot more to be said, but if you have to start somewhere, I say start from the present.

Well said, although the Anner Bylsma's Servais recording comes to my mind regarding Bach Cello suites..

 

[SunTanScanMan]

@bavinck - There are lots of thoughts about discovering music on this thread.
 
Personally I want to tread the timeline from past to present - to me this feels logical in trying to place the music and musician in their artistic context. Artists of the past speak through those of the present through influence or reaction against... not to mention other factors relating to historical, societal etc (depending on how deep you want to go)
 
In that sense I see the musical tradition as a growing tree, and it's very much alive, be that on old or contemporary recordings. I prefer to climb it from the bottom up. But exploring from canopy to root is an equally valid route and both approaches will likely opportune you to the same content.
 
Therefore, the route of exploration is less important than your own personal approach to music. That is, lose your prejudices, and try to be as open as you can be. Once you get an idea of what you like, be random and try to listen to everything every so often. Sometimes it's difficult, but it's definitely worth it. Something that you don't enjoy now may speak to you more profoundly than you ever thought possible years or even months down the line,
 
Oh and don't be turned off by others' nostalgia or bias. They are unavoidable. Why not ask yourself why is someone so attached to that piece? Do you empathise? Makes for a more interesting and perhaps enjoyable listen, or discussion on a forum thread.... like this one maybe..

 

 

[Quinto]

  @bavinck - There are lots of thoughts about discovering music on this thread.
 
Personally I want to tread the timeline from past to present - to me this feels logical in trying to place the music and musician in their artistic context. Artists of the past speak through those of the present through influence or reaction against... not to mention other factors relating to historical, societal etc (depending on how deep you want to go)
 
In that sense I see the musical tradition as a growing tree, and it's very much alive, be that on old or contemporary recordings. I prefer to climb it from the bottom up. But exploring from canopy to root is an equally valid route and both approaches will likely opportune you to the same content.
 
Therefore, the route of exploration is less important than your own personal approach to music. That is, lose your prejudices, and try to be as open as you can be. Once you get an idea of what you like, be random and try to listen to everything every so often. Sometimes it's difficult, but it's definitely worth it. Something that you don't enjoy now may speak to you more profoundly than you ever thought possible years or even months down the line,
 
Oh and don't be turned off by others' nostalgia or bias. They are unavoidable. Why not ask yourself why is someone so attached to that piece? Do you empathise? Makes for a more interesting and perhaps enjoyable listen, or discussion on a forum thread.... like this one maybe..

 

Music reveals an unspeakable individuality in a context of time..sums it pretty much up for me..turnes out I'm a romantic

 
-.paraphrasing Wilhelm Schlegel-

 

[CanadianMaestro]

NYHETSBREV FRÅN STOCKHOLMS KONSERTHUS

Radu Lupu spelar Mozart Hör den smått legendariske rumänske pianisten Radu Lupu i Mozarts sista pianokonsert. Få musiker har en lika mytisk aura omkring sig som han har. Sedan slutet av 1990-talet gör han inga inspelningar, vilket gör varje konsert till en helt exklusiv upplevelse som bara berör den publik som är där, just då. Den framstående dirigenten David Zinman leder Kungliga Filharmonikerna i Bruckners kanske mest spelade symfoni, den sjunde i E-dur. Torsdag 18 februari kl 19.00 Lördag 20 februari kl 15.00   ​ Elgar Cellokonsert Upplev stark romantisk musik av tre klassiska mästare. I centrum står Edward Elgars cello-konsert, ett av de tidernas största verk för cello. Som inramning får vi höra Elgars två stora inspirationskällor; Johannes Brahms och Robert Schumann. Onsdag 24 februari kl 19:00 Torsdag 25 februari kl 18:00   ​   Göteborg gästar med rysk musik I den här konserten får vi före paus höra musik av Rachmaninov, bland annat den monumentala tredje pianokonserten med virtuosen Alexander Gavrylyuk. Därefter Sjostakovitjs Symfoni nr 5 med Göteborgs Symfoniker under ledning av Alexander Shelley. Torsdag 3 mars kl 19:00   ​   Mästerligt oratorium ”En framtida klassiker”, har chefdirigent Sakari Oramo sagt om Dante Anarca, Anders Eliassons (1947–2013) mästerverk. Vid den här efterlängtade konserten samlas orkestern och ett magnifikt sångaruppbåd kring Sakari Oramo. Sammanlagt rör det sig om ca 180 musiker! Torsdag 10 mars kl 19:00 Lördag 12 mars kl 15:00

 

[uchihaitachi]

 

NYHETSBREV FRÅN STOCKHOLMS KONSERTHUS

Radu Lupu spelar Mozart Hör den smått legendariske rumänske pianisten Radu Lupu i Mozarts sista pianokonsert. Få musiker har en lika mytisk aura omkring sig som han har. Sedan slutet av 1990-talet gör han inga inspelningar, vilket gör varje konsert till en helt exklusiv upplevelse som bara berör den publik som är där, just då. Den framstående dirigenten David Zinman leder Kungliga Filharmonikerna i Bruckners kanske mest spelade symfoni, den sjunde i E-dur. Torsdag 18 februari kl 19.00 Lördag 20 februari kl 15.00   ​ Elgar Cellokonsert Upplev stark romantisk musik av tre klassiska mästare. I centrum står Edward Elgars cello-konsert, ett av de tidernas största verk för cello. Som inramning får vi höra Elgars två stora inspirationskällor; Johannes Brahms och Robert Schumann. Onsdag 24 februari kl 19:00 Torsdag 25 februari kl 18:00   ​   Göteborg gästar med rysk musik I den här konserten får vi före paus höra musik av Rachmaninov, bland annat den monumentala tredje pianokonserten med virtuosen Alexander Gavrylyuk. Därefter Sjostakovitjs Symfoni nr 5 med Göteborgs Symfoniker under ledning av Alexander Shelley. Torsdag 3 mars kl 19:00   ​   Mästerligt oratorium ”En framtida klassiker”, har chefdirigent Sakari Oramo sagt om Dante Anarca, Anders Eliassons (1947–2013) mästerverk. Vid den här efterlängtade konserten samlas orkestern och ett magnifikt sångaruppbåd kring Sakari Oramo. Sammanlagt rör det sig om ca 180 musiker! Torsdag 10 mars kl 19:00 Lördag 12 mars kl 15:00

Radu... 
 

 
 
But he often cancels due to health issues

 

[bavinck]

Thanks guys, very helpful advice. I will just start looking for stuff you guys recommend and post when I find something you suggested that I really liked.

 

[bavinck]

Last night I was listening to Pettersson - Symphony No. 6 (NSO, Lindberg) - really enjoyed it. The dynamics of the music were amazing to me, from barely audible to thundering sections that completely enveloped by senses. Very cool.

 

[RRod]

  Last night I was listening to Pettersson - Symphony No. 6 (NSO, Lindberg) - really enjoyed it. The dynamics of the music were amazing to me, from barely audible to thundering sections that completely enveloped by senses. Very cool.

 
BIS is always a good bet for big dynamics. Check out their Aho and Leifs discs too.

 

[jdpark]

^agree...  Speaking of dynamic symphonies, I am a fan of the Benjamin Zander conducting on Linn Records Mahler Symphony No. 2, "Resurrection", and recommend it in 96/24 (or 192/24 if you're a believer in that). Very dynamic and a great symphony with a bit of choral stuff towards the end.  The great thing is you can buy the hi-rez file straight from Linn (http://www.linnrecords.com/recording-mahler-symphony-no-2-resurrection.aspx), and you don't have to worry about not having an SACD player... Though apparently if you do have a surround sound SACD player, it's a cool album for that, too. 
 
For a perfect example of how nostalgic Classical aficionados can be, you can see the view of "Santa Fe Listener" among Amazon's reviewers: (http://www.amazon.com/review/R11Z4HCLMRQ4N2/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00CY0980C&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=5174&store=music)
 
Although everyone else rated it five stars, and the album has had many great reviews, some people will always say, "Oh it's not as great as Bernstein" or whatever... While this may be true, you can see for yourself that with a decent headphone set up whatever Bernstein album you can find, unless you have an original mint-condition vinyl record, with a $10,000 perfectly maintained turntable, the Linn is going to sonically destroy it. 
 
Thankfully, classical music isn't just about sonics. But for me, I like it when a group of strings sounds like a group of strings, and not a Loony Tunes cartoon version of whatever amazing live concert the old album was based on.   
 
I cannot argue with people, however, who say that in order to fully appreciate classical music, you must go to the hall. And neither can I argue with people who seem to remember seeing a great conductor, in a great hall, with a great orchestra, who will frown and fret over every new recording because "It's not like I remember it in New York".  

 

[RRod]

  ^agree...  Speaking of dynamic symphonies, I am a fan of the Benjamin Zander conducting on Linn Records Mahler Symphony No. 2, "Resurrection", and recommend it in 96/24 (or 192/24 if you're a believer in that). Very dynamic and a great symphony with a bit of choral stuff towards the end.  The great thing is you can buy the hi-rez file straight from Linn (http://www.linnrecords.com/recording-mahler-symphony-no-2-resurrection.aspx), and you don't have to worry about not having an SACD player... Though apparently if you do have a surround sound SACD player, it's a cool album for that, too. 
 
For a perfect example of how nostalgic Classical aficionados can be, you can see the view of "Santa Fe Listener" among Amazon's reviewers: (http://www.amazon.com/review/R11Z4HCLMRQ4N2/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00CY0980C&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=5174&store=music)
 
Although everyone else rated it five stars, and the album has had many great reviews, some people will always say, "Oh it's not as great as Bernstein" or whatever... While this may be true, you can see for yourself that with a decent headphone set up whatever Bernstein album you can find, unless you have an original mint-condition vinyl record, with a $10,000 perfectly maintained turntable, the Linn is going to sonically destroy it. 

 
You know I always wondered why the cover to his 2nd looked different than his other Mahler symphs: so he moved over to Linn, eh? I am a big fan of his Mahler 9 on Telarc, but have been waiting out for some kind of collection to get the rest; but perhaps with the company split that won't ever happen. I shall check this out. Re the Bernstein: he has a digital Mahler 2 with NYPhil on DGG, but I doubt the sonics match up to Linn.
 
As a side note on Linn: I have been a bit skeptical of them, ever since I downloaded a track from them in hi-res, converted it to Redbook myself, and found that it didn't clip in a section where the Linn CD did. Also, why no multichannel download available of the Mahler 2?

 

[jdpark]

 
 
As a side note on Linn: I have been a bit skeptical of them, ever since I downloaded a track from them in hi-res, converted it to Redbook myself, and found that it didn't clip in a section where the Linn CD did. Also, why no multichannel download available of the Mahler 2?

Good question, I have no idea, and I'm also not that worried, since I'm using either headphones or a stereo set-up. All the Linn stuff I've bought has been excellent for recording quality, whether in hi-rez or redbook. Actually the SACD rips I have taken from the redbook layer (from library copies) of Linn albums have been less good than my hi-rez files to my ears, but I think that has something to do with a particular Matthieu Passion that was recorded in DSD, and sounds too soft and fuzzy when converted to PCM...
 
I still don't think Linn is the kind of label that BIS is, or CPO, Alpha or NEW ECM, for that matter, but it's pretty good at what it does, and I like how you can usually get their studio masters online. Telarc is a sad story, and I don't see many of their albums around anymore. 
 
I'm curious about the Berstein M2 now.... Sonics aren't everything, and if you can feel the emotion, I'm all for it.  

 

[RRod]

  Good question, I have no idea, and I'm also not that worried, since I'm using either headphones or a stereo set-up. All the Linn stuff I've bought has been excellent for recording quality, whether in hi-rez or redbook. Actually the SACD rips I have taken from the redbook layer (from library copies) of Linn albums have been less good than my hi-rez files to my ears, but I think that has something to do with a particular Matthieu Passion that was recorded in DSD, and sounds too soft and fuzzy when converted to PCM...
 
I still don't think Linn is the kind of label that BIS is, or CPO, Alpha or NEW ECM, for that matter, but it's pretty good at what it does, and I like how you can usually get their studio masters online. Telarc is a sad story, and I don't see many of their albums around anymore. 
 
I'm curious about the Berstein M2 now.... Sonics aren't everything, and if you can feel the emotion, I'm all for it.  

 
Check out the whole DGG cycle; def. worth your time. I hadn't read about the shakeup at Telarc. Seems like some of their old guard has recently done work with Linn, actually. Re the multichannel: I just look forward to the whole SACD multichannel world to finally get switched over to downloadable PCM.

 

[jdpark]

This does indeed make me want to order and take some days off work: http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R3JMXQ7TJROUXF/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00000DI2T#R3JMXQ7TJROUXF
 
I was watching some YouTube videos of lectures with LB, and it was interesting to hear his discussion of the 'future' of music. Especially since essentially we are already pretty far into the future from where he was sitting then in the 1970s I think. Basically, he predicts a return to tonal music, or at least what in a different video he describes as 'tonal control'... However, what he doesn't seem to foresee at least from my limited research, is the complete revitalization of Historically Informed Performances in a lot of early works from the Medieval, Renaissance, or Baroque period. It is fascinating to see groups like the Freiburger Barockorchester do works from Bieber to Mozart in quite new ways, much different than Bernstein would have imagined or possibly even preferred. 
 
What he may not have foreseen is a sort of leveling off in public interest in the romantic symphonies. You find that while there are still plenty of philharmonic orchestras, and plenty of performances of everything from Baruch to Beethoven, a lot of the younger musicians are into non-romantic genres, whether we're talking about Reich and Part, or whether we're talking about Bach and Corelli. 
 
It's also not obvious from Bernstein's perspective that you would have so much rediscovery of lesser known past composers, or even lesser known works of famous composers that constantly emerge in new and thrilling ways. That said, perhaps it's also not obvious from Bernstein's perspective how restless the music consumer would be in the 2010s, when we have access to virtually any genre in the world, past or present, for free, in seconds. All of this together reveals how limited Bernstein's perspective on music really was, even though he was a master of many musical techniques that are not really understood by younger concert goers or music lovers like myself. 
 
It probably is worth the time to really try and understand the romantic revival movement that swept the classical world for most of the 20th century until the 1980s, and hopefully I'll get some time to do that at some point. Interestingly, Bernstein himself, was not a pure romantic, even though his interpretations of the 19th century composers are notoriously romantic. He may be the person most responsible for getting the music of the American cross-over genre Broadway and Hollywood composers into mainstream classical music. Maybe, we'll see a revival of this genre as well, but so far, it seems to be the stuff that "Pop" orchestras are fond of, and not taken very seriously by most young classical musicians outside of the US.